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911 CENTER STALLED Four residents of Mockingbird Lane have hired an Emporium attorney in an effort to stall construction of a new emergency operations center along Rt. 872 in Coudersport Borough. Attorney Paul Malizia has filed an appeal in Potter County Court in response to a recent split vote by the Coudersport Borough Zoning Hearing Board to grant a variance that allowed construction to proceed. Last year, the Potter County Board of Commissioners approved the low bid of $300,000 by Hamilton Construction of Ulysses to renovate a former mental retardation group home into an operations center. It's linked to a multi-million dollar project in Potter and Tioga counties to accommodate 9-1-1 emergency calls from cell phones. Potter currently contracts with Tioga for 9-1-1 dispatch. Citizens who live in the vicinity of the new center, which remains under construction, spoke out against the variance during a Zoning Hearing Board session on Jan. 28. They have since contracted with Malizia to appeal the decision in court. Plaintiffs are Ken and Diane Johnston, Alan and Sharon Richards, Bob and Barb Carroll, and Jeff and Gail Potocek. They're arguing that the Zoning Hearing Board abused its discretion in allowing a nonconforming use, specifically a 120-foot-high communications tower and commercial, on a property designated as "residential" in the borough's zoning ordinance. The neighbors claim the equipment would be a nuisance to them and is not in keeping with the board's mandate to protect the public health, safety and welfare.
Coudersport Zoning Hearing Board is represented by attorney Patrick Larsen of Acker Larsen in Coudersport. Potter County Solicitor D. Bruce Cahilly, representing the commissioners, has also been involved in the case.
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